There are numerous residential and commercial surfaces and materials which require cleaning. Many of these surfaces and materials are difficult to clean and require specific cleaning implements, for instance specialty shaped brushes. For professional cleaning of certain construction materials, in particular the tile grout in seams between tile, such cleaning is typically carried out manually due to the nature of the tile and grout materials. It is well known that grout, which is used to secure and fill the thin, elongate spaces or seams between tiles, or between tiles and another building material, usually fills the spaces or seams at a level below that of the plane defined by the top surface of the tile. Once properly applied between the tiles, the grout in the seam is essentially slightly depressed or sunken below the top surface of the tile, and even slightly concave in nature relative to the plane along which such tile and grout is laid.
Because of the relatively thin nature of the seam between tiles, relative to the planar tile surface, the seam and grout therein becomes a particularly difficult spot to clean. For example, on a tile floor a cleaning device such as a semi-automated sweeper, or even a conventional mop, tends to traverse the plane of the floor as defined substantially by the top surface of the tiles. The cleaning device which may adequately clean the top surface of the tiles making up the floor, can miss, i.e., pass over or span the seam, and due to the depressed, sunken and even concave nature of the grout, miss the grout completely, thus failing to clean the grout. In many cases the depressed nature of the grout even acts as a trap, ensnaring dirt and debris therein which cannot be easily cleaned. Furthermore, the porous nature of certain grouts also traps dirt and debris therein so that even if the surface of the grout is cleaned, the dirt and debris remains imbedded in the grout, and the grout appears dirty, dingy and uncleaned.
In order to properly clean grout it is generally necessary to manually apply a grout cleaning solution and then manually scrub the applied cleaning solution into the grout to lift out the imbedded dirt and debris. This operation is usually accomplished by a worker working on their hands and knees traversing the floor while applying the requisite cleaner from a bottle and then, with a separate brush, vigorously scrubbing the grout to remove the dirt and debris.
Generally, to really get tile grout clean it must be cleaned manually, and there are few alternatives. As discussed above, a worker utilizes a cleaning solution in a hand held bottle and applies a desired amount of cleaning solution to an area of grout to loosen any dirt, grime, mold or other debris located therein and then scrubs the grout with a brush. A grout cleaning brush as known in the art is generally provided with an elongate handle between about 4 to 14 inches in length and more preferably about 8 to 12 inches long. At one end of the brush a set of bristles is attached to the handle in a similar manner to that of a toothbrush. The bristles may be made of varying materials for example nylon or even metal wire bristles having various stiffnesses, but in any event, the bristles are stiff enough to provide an adequate scrubbing of the grout. However as is also known, the bristles have a finite life due to the intensity of the scrubbing which must be done to adequately clean grout and, therefore, after a certain period of time of a brush be discarded and replaced.
Bottles which are used to hold cleaning solution by the worker scrubbing the grout are also known in the art. The bottles generally hold about 6–64 ounces of cleaning solution, and being about 2 to 6 inches in diameter, and more preferably about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, can be easily held in the workers hand. It can be readily appreciated that in cleaning tile grout the cleaning solution need only be applied to the grout, rather than to the tile surface(s). In order to facilitate the appropriate dispensing of the cleaning solution only on the grout in the seam between the tiles, the bottle is provided with a nipple which has an opening at the dispensing end sized to permit only a desired about of cleaning solution out of the bottle and to apply the cleaning solution only along the grout. Too large an opening and the cleaning solution is apt to be dispensed all over the tile surfaces and cause the worker to have undertake an inordinate amount of clean up.
With the separate cleaning solution bottle and scrubbing brush as is known in the art, a worker who is cleaning floor tile grout is usually working on their hands and knees. Because of this physical working position it is necessary to have both knees on the floor, and at least one hand on the floor to support the workers upper body. The worker's other hand is then free to use the bottle, or the brush as necessary. In view of the fact that only one hand is free to perform such work, the worker must first dispense a desired amount of cleaning solution along the grout line and then put the bottle down and pick up the scrubbing brush to scrub the grout. This known method and apparatus for cleaning is greatly inefficient as the wasted motions of putting down one implement, or the other, take time and may place the necessary implements out of reach as the worker moves along the grout line scrubbing and cleaning. These inefficiencies have led workers to, for example, tape the handle of the scrubbing brush to the bottle so that the brush bristles are aligned radially outward relative to the circumference of the bottle. In this manner by using only one hand, the worker can not only dispense the cleaning solution, but can also immediately, or even simultaneously in some cases, scrub the tile grout with the brush without having to put down, and pick up one or the other cleaning implements.
The problem with taping the handle to the bottle is that the brush handle is not as rigidly fixed to the bottle as necessary to adequately scrub the grout. Held on merely by tape, the brush has a tendency to wobble, twist or move relative to the bottle, especially in view of the soft, squeezable plastic of which the bottle is manufactured. Additionally, the brushes wear out, in particular, the bristles wear down and become irreparably misaligned and thus must be replaced after a number of hours of use. The tape must then be torn off the bottle and brush and a new brush put on and new tape applied. If a sufficient amount of tape is used to adequately hold the brush to the bottle, it becomes a difficult job to maintain the alignment of the brush and remove the tape to replace the brush.